12 July 2008

Conceived in San Francisco, brewed in New York. Shmaltz Brewing Company takes a decidedly shticky, Borscht Belt inspired approach to marketing that is quintessentially American. The marketing pitch has grabbed the attention of the Jerusalem Post. The brewery's website features a photo of Lewis Black. The beer is kosher, although I'm guessing almost all beer would be if anyone bothered to pursue certification. At some point, the Old Testament puns become tiresome, but by then you've already tried the beer, which is all they are asking.

Genesis Ale and Messiah Bold are described as Light Brown and Dark Brown ales, respectively, on their labels. The former is in fact a pale ale.

Genesis Ale: Hazy, coppery-orange with a fading head. It's made with Centennial and Cascade hops, as well as Warrior, Fuggles and Willamette. It definitely has a west coast APA aspect to it, although it hasn't the biggest hop kick you'll find. I'd rank it somewhere in the middle between bitter grapefruit/pine excess and the English style. The body is a bit light, but that's okay. "Smooth and distinctive," claims the label, but I'd say the former is more true than the latter. Good APA for those who accept the American style but aren't competitive about IBUs.

Messiah Bold: This too seems to have a bit of a Northwest hop aroma (Cascade is still there). It's opaque, probably more thanks to turbidity than to dark color. The malts are roasty and chocolatey, but the hops are still there. I'm not sure it melds together completely, though. The body is still on the light side, and it isn't as "rich and robust" as promised by the label. Still, this is a pretty good brown ale.

These are both intended to be everyday brews, so you shouldn't expect them to blow you away. Which one I'd prefer probably comes down to style. Right now, I'd take another Genesis Ale. He'Brew also makes some big ones (including a pomegranate ale @ 8%) which may provide a better test of the brewery.

2 comments:

Hi there. This is Zak from Shmaltz Brewing Company. Thanks so much for the shoutouts to Genesis Ale and Messiah Bold. Genesis definitely has a lot of similarities to a Pale Ale, but we consider it to fall right between an Amber and a Pale. That was a little too long to put on a label, so "light brown ale" was our compromise. Either way, it's great to hear that you've enjoyed our brews. L'Chaim!!